Only A Northern Song, a George Harrison song, is a characteristically bitter but witty comment at the way the Beatles’ music publishing was being arranged.
The Beatles BibleRecorded in 1967 during the Sgt Pepper sessions, George Harrison’s ‘Only A Northern Song’ wasn’t released until the Yellow Submarine soundtrack album in early 1969.
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WikipediaIn an attempt to avoid what they saw as excessive tax, the Beatles had been encouraged to sell their rights to a company – Northern Songs. This – they thought – meant that their earnings would be treated as capital rather than income (attracting much less tax). Lennon and McCartney had substantial shareholdings (15% each – so not a majority) but Harrison and Starr had less than 1%, so under this arrangement Harrison would get very little from any songs he wrote for the Beatles. As the lyrics put it: “You may feel the words are not quite right… And it doesn’t really matter what chords I play … As it’s only a Northern Song”.
The music is also deliberately odd. Recorded in 1967 McCartney and Starr gave it the full Sgt Pepper treatment and the underlying song is just a little strange – and quite catchy. Really nice bass on the Anthology version which gives an idea how it might have sounded if taken a bit more seriously. However in the final released version they go well beyond this with layer upon layer of psychedelic cacophony (McCartney playing a notably mad trumpet part) ramming home the point so that it comes across as a genuine protest/piss take.
In the UK the “Taxman” eventually closed the loophole the Beatles had tried to exploit with a measure known as “the Beatles Clause” which remains on the statute book. It was in the news recently when Harry Potter star Rupert Grint apparently fell foul of this rule. The Beatles were also burned when Dick James who had the majority shareholding in Northern Songs sold up without warning, leaving them with no control over the rights.